Not Meant to Be
by Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh
Summary: "I mean, yeah, it was pretty shocking to learn I've died, but I got over it pretty soon. But… I'm a literal walking corpse, Bunny. I know Tooth wouldn't think twice about accepting a confession, but I can't do this to her. I'm a less deranged and better-looking version of a zombie. It's just not meant to be."


**_Wow, what is this? Another Rise of the Guardians oneshot? So soon? Huh, who would've guessed._**

**_Don't worry, my usual readers, next on the update list is An Extension of the Soul. I'm done with the important translation I had to do, and even though I do still have another translation to do, I have lots of time for that._**

"I bring toys to children!"

"I bring 'em free candies and chocolate!"

"But they have to find them or they don't get anything, while I deliver toys to children directly!"

"I make them work for it so that they will burn some of the sugars they eat!"

"Children eat candies and holiday is over, but with toys they play all year!"

"Toys can break, and eventually they'll throw 'em away like trash!"

"I work all year to prepare toys, you only work few days before Easter!"

"And this makes my job way harder because I can't spread it over months and months!"

"I make children happy!"

"I make them happy too!"

The North Pole was usually a noisy place. Between North's full-volume music, the elves's shenanigans, and the working yetis, there was little time for silence. During Guardian meetings, however, silence was an impossibility, because to all of that were added North and Bunny's usual arguments on whether Easter was better than Christmas or vice versa.

Jack didn't see the point of them. To tell the truth, neither did Tooth nor Sandy, who had been with the Guardians far longer than him.

In the end, it only degenerated in the two of them arguing for a while without ever reaching a conclusion, then sulking for a minute or two, and then back to friends. What was even the point if nothing ever changed?

The ongoing argument was no different. They had been sniping at each other for a quarter of hour already. Thirty-five minutes still to go before the meeting was over.

Idly, Jack thought about the core of the argument. Easter vs Christmas? Well, he surely liked Christmas because he could make it snow, but he was probably biased for Easter: children rarely found _all_ the eggs laying around, and he always found it funny to search for the ones left behind. Of course, he'd never tell that to Bunny – the kangaroo would never let him get away with such a confession.

"How's Baby Tooth?" he asked, leaning to the side to whisper to Tooth.

The tiny fairy had decided to go back to work a few weeks prior after being jokingly called lazy one too many times. Jack had been sad to see her go, but he saw her every time he visited the Tooth Palace, which was pretty often, so he wasn't too sad. Still, he checked up on her every now and then – which meant basically every day.

"She's been working twice as hard as anyone else," Tooth smiled back. "And now she's the one to call the others lazy."

"She's got pettiness, huh?"

"No, she's just getting revenge for all the jokes," she shrugged. "She must've learned that from you. I could definitely see you doing something like that, especially with Bunny."

He raised his hands in mock surrender. "You totally got me," he laughed.

"Jack, Tooth, can't you see we're trying to argue?" North called out, interrupting his 'argument' with Bunny for a second. "Why can't you follow Sandy's example and let us argue in peace?"

"Sandy's sleeping," Jack pointed out. He was promptly ignored as North and Bunny continued with their discussion. "Ugh, do we really have to sit through these meetings even if there's nothing to discuss?"

"It's part of being a Guardian, Jack." Tooth reminded him. To be honest, that _had_ been one of the reasons why he had initially refused the 'promotion'. "But, if there's something we need to know, just say it. If there's nothing else to talk about…" She let her eyes slide back to the arguing duo.

Jack groaned again. "Why do meetings have to happen even if there's nothing to discuss?"

"Because otherwise we would almost never see each other," replied the fairy. "You visit us often, but we rarely have time. Most of the times, you drop by while we're working."

"Then why do we have to meet up here?" Jack let out a third exaggerated groan. "I mean, we could meet just about anywhere, why here of all places? There's nothing to do! If it's really just to see each other, it doesn't make sense to waste it on arguments. We should have fun together!"

His centre demanded as much!

"I know, Jack, but with how busy we usually are, we use these meetings to just enjoy each other's presence since we meet up so little." He sighed. Couldn't exactly argue with that. They had hundreds, if not thousands of years more than him, and they'd been Guardians way longer than he had. It made sense how they wouldn't be so bothered by the arguments any more.

"For how long those two have been going on with these arguments?" he grumbled. "A century? Two?"

"Well…" She looked to the side, embarrassed. "Quite a bit more. Actually, they began a few years after North became a Guardian."

Jack's eyes widened. Man, that was a _long_ time. "And they still aren't done arguing?" he asked, shocked.

She shrugged. "It's how they show their friendship, I guess?"

_Thump_. Jack let his head fall back on the floor. As opposite to the others, who were either standing or flying, he was laying on the floor against the wall, with his legs propped up said wall. "Great. You just confirmed my worst fear: those two are gonna go at it for all eternity, and I'll have to listen."

"Don't be so dramatic," she laughed, hovering a bit closer. "You shouldn't have allowed them to start, if you were gonna be so upset about it."

"They literally ignored me when I tried to break it up!"

"Well, you too would be upset if someone tried to interrupt one of your snowball fights with Jamie," Tooth replied with a smile. His eyes lit up, and she realized she'd just made a mistake – even if she did not know what mistake yet. "Jack…"

"Why didn't I think of this before!?" Jack jumped up, grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, making her blush by the close proximity of their faces. "Tooth, you're a genius!"

"W-What…"

As swift as it'd come, the contact ended. Jack took his hands off her shoulders and waltzed past her with something white in hand, leaving her confused and -if she had to be honest- more than a little flustered about it.

A second later, a snowball hit Bunny in the back of his head, and chaos broke loose.

/-/

"Bloody oversized ankle-biter…"

Why couldn't that bloody show pony bloody stop being so bloody childish at all bloody times!? Was he really that hyperactive that he couldn't just sit still during hour-long meetings? He had all the time he wanted to be crazy and 'have fun'. There was no need to start a snowball fight in the middle of a meeting. What if important news came in, and they were all too busy playing?

"Are you still mad at Jack for snow?"

Of course he was! Had it been just a handful of snowballs, or maybe a dozen, it would've been _fine_! But that bloody winterhead had covered the meeting room with a foot-thick layer of snow, and even frozen the hearth's _flames_! How could someone freeze fire?!

"I think he did right thing."

"What?!" Bunny jerked up, staring at North incredulously. "The right thing!? Are ya insane, mate?! He made it snow in the meeting room!"

"Not what I was referring to, Bunny," chuckled the larger Guardian. "He followed his centre. These meetings are for all Guardians. We forgot Jack is not used to being one. We should have known he would get bored."

"He's always bored," grumbled Bunny.

"You forget he spent most of his life alone, Bunny," North reminded him, not unkindly. "Just seeing his friends isn't enough for him. He tries to get attention. It may be childish thing to do, but after nothing else worked, can you blame him for resorting to childish way?"

The Guardian of Hope groaned and rolled his eyes, momentarily wishing to be closer to the wall so that he could bang his head against it. "Why are ya always so good at reading people, North? You're making me feel bad about being angry at him!"

"I am not saying you should forgive him," he pointed out. "I am just saying there is reason why he does this."

"Ugh…"

"In time, you will grow fond of it, like you did of our arguments," North wisely claimed, patting his back sympathetically.

"Only Tooth is fond of his pranks, North," grumbled the Guardian of Hope, shivering as he felt some snow he'd missed melting down his back.

"Tooth is fond of everything that is Jack," chuckled the other. "Love usually works like that."

Bunny nodded absent-mindedly. Then his words sunk in and the Pooka whipped around, incredulous. "Wait, what?!"

North blinked owlishly at him. "You didn't know Jack and Tooth like each other? It is obvious as Moon!"

"What?! Since when?! How?!" Bunny completely forgot about the melting snow on his fur.

The Guardian of Wonder laughed heartily at his friend's obliviousness. "Since when? Since Manny chose Jack to be Guardian! Did you not notice Tooth was in dreamland? And when we brought Jack here, mini fairies kept swooning after Jack, and they are part of Tooth herself. And when we found them at little Jamie's house, they were having moment!" North stared at him. "Did you not realize they always stand close to each other during meetings? Or that Jack is only one Tooth allows to drag her away from work? Or that he only helps Tooth collecting teeth?"

Looking back, yes, it was pretty obvious, but as they said hindsight was twenty twentieths. Bunny wanted to smack himself for being so blind. How could he not have noticed? They had basically kissed after Pitch's defeat! Well, at least it had looked like that from his point of view. Hadn't Baby Tooth broken up the hug, who knew what would've happened?

Still, he'd never hear the end of North's laughters if he admitted that. "W-Well, of course I noticed. I mean, who didn't?"

"You were surprised when I told you," North pointed out with a grin.

"I-I was just surprised that _you_ knew. Heh." Bunny looked around for inspiration. He'd never been a good liar. "I mean, come on, I'm an expert on love, of course I noticed!"

"You are expert?" The Guardian of Wonder sounded far from convinced. "You have never liked anyone! Or if you have, you never told me, which is just as bad! Just admit you hadn't noticed, Bunny!"

"I keep telling you, mate, I _have_! Come on, I'll prove it! Ask me anything! Anything at all!"

"Okay, then what about bet?" North offered with his signature smile. "If you get Jack and Tooth together by next meeting, I will admit that Easter is better than Christmas. If you fail, you will admit Christmas is better."

"Deal!" he immediately said, grasping North's hand and shaking it vigorously. "You're on, mate. Get ready to lose."

North laughed. "We will see, Bunny."

"I'm never gonna say Christmas's better, mate, face it you've already lost." Bunny released his hand and rubbed his own paws together. Finally, he had a way to win those arguments. North shouldn't have made that bet, because the Moon would fall before he lost the chance to prove, once and for all, that Easter was better than Christmas. All he had to do, now, was to win some simple bet, and the old Wonder Man would need to eat his words right back up. What could possibly go wrong?

He just had to get Frostbite and Tooth together by the next meeting!

He froze.

"Wait wait wait, what?!"

He turned back to face North, but the larger Guardian had already left the room. A pit of dread opened up in Bunny's stomach. How was he supposed to get those two together, when it was a few months they tiptoed around each other like that? He knew nothing of love!

Maybe North's library had something on the subject?

…He was doomed.

/-/

As the umpteenth mini fairy zipped past him, barely acknowledging his presence, Bunny began to reconsider. Was it really so bad admitting that he knew nothing about love? That he'd always been too busy looking after the Warren to really look into such things? All the books he'd read back at the Pole had given him a massive headache. Maybe he just wasn't made to think of love?

But admitting defeat would mean declaring Christmas better than Easter… and that just couldn't happen. It _couldn't_. It would go against everything he held dear. Also, the look on North's face would be so infuriating… The Guardian of Wonder would never let him live that down.

With a long-suffering sigh, Bunny hopped from one column to another in search for one of the two lovebirds he had so foolishly promised to get together.

He spotted his first target in her usual spot, in the very middle of the Tooth Palace, shooting out orders like a machine gun on steroids. Bunny never understood just how could children lose _that_ many teeth. They'd all end up toothless within a few days! There were _millions_ of mini fairies, how could children lose teeth so quickly? Tooth couldn't actually be _that_ busy!

Only problem, he had no proof of that.

With a long jump, he hopped onto the platform she was currently hovering close to, and cleared his throat. She didn't even seem to hear him. With a sigh, he hopped as close to the edge as possible and tapped her on the shoulder.

Only to startle her, and receive a fist straight to the nose.

"Oh god I'm so sorry Bunny, I-I didn't see you!" she immediately apologized as he sat up, rubbing his throbbing nose. "Are you okay?"

"My nose hurts, but I'm fine," he snorted. "Bloody hell, Tooth, you pack a mean punch…"

She blushed sheepishly. "S-Sorry. It's just that after the battle with Pitch, I decided to pick up the slack a little since I could only fight with my wings back then. I've been training in hand-to-hand and swordfighting, recently."

Huh. The hyperactive, super-busy Tooth Fairy actually thought to spare some time to get back in fighting shape. Maybe he should follow her example and train a little too. His aim wasn't as good as it once was, after all. "Well, that's good to know but that's not why I'm here."

"Is something wrong?" she asked. "Did something happen?"

"No, no. Nothing's wrong and nothing happened, I just wanted to talk with you," Bunny hurried to reassured her. "It's about Frostbite."

She gasped. "Is everything okay? Jack's not hurt, is he? Does he need help? Is-"

"He's _fine!_" snapped the Guardian of Hope, effectively shutting her up. Gods, now that he thought of it, it _was_ pretty obvious that at least Tooth was head over feathers for Jack. "I just wanted to ask you something that regards him."

"Oh." Tooth settled, her frantic wingbeat slowing down a little to a calmer level. "What is it?"

"Well, I've noticed how you act around him-" Her eyes widened and she blushed. "-and I couldn't help but wonder why don't you ask him out. So I came here to ask you about it. I mean, you seem to have pretty much fallen for him already, so why don't you make a move?"

Her wingbeat increased again and she looked everywhere but at him, determined not to meet his eyes. "I…"

"Look, how you feel is pretty clear. You've never really been the shy one of the group." Bunny snorted. "I mean, come on, you knocked out _Pitch Black's_ tooth. I don't think a little confession is beyond your abilities."

"It's not just that…" Tooth's voice turned sad. She turned away and rubbed her arm, looking down.

All of Bunny's amusement was swept away in an instant. "Hey, we've known each other for centuries. You know you can tell me when something's bothering you, y'know? I mean, I may not be you but I like to think I'm not that bad of a comforter."

For a few long seconds, and for someone as hyperactive as Tooth a few seconds were definitely _long_, she said nothing, and he was almost sure she wouldn't share her burden. Then, slowly, she turned to face him again, still looking down. Frowning, he followed her gaze, landing on the loop of long, brightly coloured feathers at her waist, acting like a skirt.

He stared at them for a few more seconds before he finally understood.

"Oh…" He swallowed a lump in his throat. He hadn't thought of that and… that could make everything so much more complicated. "You're afraid that he…"

"I'm part hummingbird, Bunny," she explained sadly. "I'm literally covered in feathers. How could he ever look at me like that? He may consider me a friend, a close one, but I know I don't have a chance with him. To him, I might've as well be a yeti, with how inhuman I am."

Bunny looked up to look in her eyes, and he didn't like what he saw. It wasn't just the sadness in them, no, what he disliked the most was the lack of a very important emotion. His centre. Tooth didn't have hope in her eyes. She genuinely meant those words without the shadow of a doubt. She really thought she had no chance with Jack, and she'd given it a lot of thought.

And… that honestly hurt more than the thought of having to admit Christmas was better than Easter. Tooth was a wonderful person who didn't deserve such heartbreak, but most of all she was his _friend_, and he'd be damned twice over before he let a friend look like _that_.

He didn't know Jack well enough to be sure, but he could clearly see that the winter spirit was interested in Tooth, feathers or no feathers. He wanted to just straight-out tell her that, but he felt that she wouldn't completely believe him – she'd take his words as mere pity.

Wrecking his brains for a solution, he frowned when he got one. It wasn't exactly a solution, but maybe it'd help bringing Tooth out of her funk long enough to convince her to at least try.

_'Well, here goes nothing…'_ his heavily-Australian-accented thoughts rang out in his head.

"You're wrong, Tooth. Well, you're not wrong about the 'being part hummingbird' part, but you're wrong when you think of him as a normal human." Bunny crouched and scratched his cheek with a paw, mostly just to avoid looking at her as she looked at him with sad eyes. "No normal human talks with the North Wind, no normal human has such a low body temperature, and no normal human has frozen blood like him."

Tooth's gaze snapped up, alarmed. "What?"

"You didn't know?" Bunny raised a furry eyebrow at her. "Frostbite's blood is frozen solid. Most of the time, at least. He's not a normal human, Tooth. I don't think he'd care about the feathers. And even if he does, the worst that could happen is him saying no. The world isn't gonna end. Is it gonna hurt? I'll be honest, yes. But he won't abandon you just because he turned you down. You'll still have him as your friend, as well as all of us."

She nodded slowly. "Yes, but… go back to the frozen blood part. How… How do you know that?"

Bunny shrugged. "Well, honestly, it came up after we had a race in my Warren. We were both slightly tired, but his skin was still pearly white. Normally, running should make you red-faced, but not him. When I pointed it out he said that his blood is frozen most of the time, so it can't exactly move around in his body."

"Wait, does that mean his heart doesn't beat?" Tooth exclaimed, worried.

The Guardian of Hope blinked. "I… I don't know. I mean, I could swear I've heard his heart beating before, but it's really really faint, you know? Otherwise, it only beats when he's close to the fire."

Tooth furrowed her brows for a second before realization hit her. "Because the fire melts his blood back to liquid, right?"

Bunny shrugged again. "I guess so? I'm not an expert, sheila. But anyway, what I'm trying to say is… whatever reasons he might have to not like you, you have just as many reasons not to like him. Does these reasons bother you in the slightest?"

She fervently shook her head. "Of course not! I don't care if he's cold!"

"See?" Bunny grinned victoriously and spread his arms as if to illustrate a point. "No need to worry about him, then. Heck, even your age difference isn't all that important – you're both gonna live forever, centuries starts losing importance once you've been around for millennia."

"So you think that…"

"I think you should at least tell him and be honest with him. You owe him as much." Bunny smirked. "Look, why don't you confess at the next meeting? So you won't have to be alone with him, and you won't be able to chicken out. And, if you need help, we'll all be there. I'm sure Sandy wouldn't mind putting him to sleep for a while if you need time to gather up your courage."

Tooth smiled, some sparks of hope rekindling in her eyes. "Do you really think…"

"Do I really think it'll work?" Bunny snorted, amused. He knew it would work! He just couldn't tell her that, that was all. "Of course, Tooth. Come on, I'm the Guardian of Hope. I'm supposed to spread hope, not false hopes. Trust me and just do it, okay?"

The Guardian of Memories hesitated for a second, just one, before she steeled her determination, and nodded.

Bunny smiled.

/-/

Said smile didn't last long.

"Bloody Frostbite, why did he had to plan a bloody blizzard today?!" he grumbled to himself as he advanced in the flurries of snow. The wind was whipping at his fur, chilling him to the bone as he trudged through the layer of snow already covering the ground. The branches above his head shook as the wind whistled past them, carrying with it the sound of Jack's laughter.

Bunny scowled as the figure of the winter spirit whizzed past above him, not noticing the snow-covered Guardian not fifty feet below. He would've shouted, but he was pretty sure the howling wind would drown out his words like nothing.

He continued to keep walking until he reached the Overland Lake, and had to get down on all fours to keep the wind from sending him skipping on the slippery ice. Bloody Frost kept the lake frozen all year long, but with the addition of the blizzard, walking on the pond was basically asking to slip.

Finally out of the trees, Bunny shook the snow off himself, revealing his grey fur underneath. As he hoped, the stark contrast between him and the light blue of the ice was enough to get Jack's attention, and after a few more loops in the air, the winter spirit dived down to face him – lowering the wind, thankfully, to a level where it wouldn't rip their words to shreds the second they spoke.

"Cottontail!" he greeted him as he landed on the ice. Barefoot. Bunny shivered. "Nice of you to drop by!"

"I'm here for business!" the Guardian of Hope snapped, and the wind ceased almost immediately.

"Is something wrong?" Jack asked, smile wiped off his face. "Pitch?"

"No, not _that_ kind of business," he shook his head. "We gotta have a talk. About Tooth."

"Oh." Jack leaned on his staff. "W-What about her?"

"Let's cut the pleasantries – you like her, don't you?" Maybe the winter spirit couldn't blush because of his blood being frozen, but all other signs of embarrassment were there. Wide eyes, sudden stiffness, desire to avoid eye contact… Bunny took it as a yes. "Okay, so why aren't you doing something about it? It's months you two are playing this game."

"We're what?" Jack faked a cough and looked away. "I-I mean…"

"Look, mate, it's clear how you feel about her, okay?" Bunny grinned. "Pretty sure even Sandy noticed."

"Oh, he noticed alright if the dreams he sends me are anything to go by…" mumbled the white-haired boy.

"What?"

"Nothing! Go on."

Bunny raised an eyebrow at him, even though inwardly he was raising an eyebrow at Sandy. The Guardian of Dreams slept right through most meetings, how could he have noticed? Nevertheless, that didn't matter in the end. His mission was to get Jack and Tooth together by the next meeting, not to find out how Sandy knew about it. "Anyway, mate, I was saying, why don't you make a move? You already have the approval of all the other Guardians, North's elves and yetis, Tooth's fairies, Jamie, and even my eggs are with you on this! …Though that is not my doing, they are just overly sentimentalist. I mean, the mini fairies literally swoon at you!"

Jack sighed and climbed on his staff to crouch on top of it. "Look, it's not that, okay? I know you guys all expect me to confess. And I know that Tooth likes me. I think she made that clear since the start with her teeth-checking, and she's been making it clear ever since. But this isn't about her, or them, or you. This is about me, Bunny. I can't tell her."

Pushing aside the surprise at hearing that Jack had known all along, Bunny pressed on. "What? You're scared? You said it yourself, she likes you. What's to be scared of?"

"I'm not scared, Bunny." The boy sighed and looked down at his hands. "It's something else."

"_What_ else?" The youngest Guardian didn't reply, but he did jump down his staff. "Frostbi- _Jack_, I know our friendship is more based on rivalry than anything else, but I still got your back, okay? If this is really unsolvable, then I'll admit you were right, and we can share the burden together instead of just you. But if it does have a solution, then shutting me out is just gonna make you miss your chance."

Jack let out a long, deep sigh, one Bunny didn't think he could be capable of. It was so easy to think of him as a teenager, given his looks and his carefree nature, but at times he was reminded that the boy before him had actually lived for over three centuries – which wasn't much, if compared to his own age, but which still was a long time, immortal or not.

"I… I don't know if I can tell you." Bunny's ears dropped. "But… I'll try to show you."

Looking up again, the Guardian of Hope saw him walking away, and hurried to follow him. They were silent for the whole trip, one crawling through the snow, the other walking over it like it was solid. The snow had begun to fall again, a sign that the boy up ahead was upset. When they entered the town's old graveyard, Bunny began to feel unnerved.

And began to understand what Jack's problem actually was.

He had to admit it, it did look unsolvable.

They stopped before a very old grave whose markings had all but faded, eroded by time. Bunny didn't need any written names to understand. "This is your grave," he said quietly, shivering when the wind carried his words all thorough the graveyard.

Jack nodded and sighed. "Yes. After I drowned in the lake, they tried to find my body, but they never did. Guess why." He gave a humourless chuckle. "I've always had the inkling that I had fallen into the lake even before getting my memories back. I went through all possible scenarios, and I hypothesised that almost drowning caused an amnesia by trauma. Only a few months ago I learned I had actually drowned in there."

"Jack…"

"It doesn't really bother me, if that's what you're worrying about," he interrupted, waving his concerns aside. "I mean, yeah, it was pretty shocking to learn I've died, but I got over it pretty soon. But… I'm a literal walking corpse, Bunny. I know Tooth wouldn't think twice about accepting a confession, but I can't do this to her. I'm a less deranged and better-looking version of a zombie. It's just not meant to be."

Bunny frowned down for a second, and then smirked mischievously as a thought crossed his mind. "What, worried you two might not be able to have children?"

He was sure that, hadn't Jack's blood been completely frozen, the boy would've turned crimson. Instead, he only stumbled and sputtered a little. "B-Bunny! O-Of course it's n-not that! Don't joke about this!"

"Why not?"

"Why not?!" Jack yelled, outraged. "I'm _dead_, if you haven't noticed!"

"Last I checked, mate, dead people didn't walk around, couldn't talk, didn't think, or anything. You are defying a lot of zombie-related rules, you know?" Bunny shrugged. "You've died, yeah, and so? And I'm a six feet tall bunny who can create tunnels to anywhere with a stomp of his feet. Sandy's literally made of Dreamsand. And Tooth is half-hummingbird, in case you haven't noticed."

"But none of you guys are dead!" he stubbornly retorted. "It's different!"

"How so?"

"How so?!" Bunny smirked. A frustrated and shocked Jack was hilarious to see. Payback for all his pranks, he guessed. "B-Bunny, you can't be serious! Death is… death!"

"Sounds to me like it's the principle what the problem is, not the actual condition." The Guardian of Hope grinned at his fellow Guardian. "You've been resurrected, end of the story, you're not dead any more. You being cold is because of your powers, not because you've died. But, you are holding onto the principle that you've died, so you're dead, so you're a corpse, so you can't be with Tooth. Which eventually is like a castle of Dreamsand – it may look solid, but it turns to dust the moment you touch it."

"Where are you going with this?" Jack asked cautiously.

"You are not dead any more, Jack. It's not that the true reason why you are afraid of returning her feelings, even if it's the reason you've been telling yourself for months." Bunny was fully making it up as he went now. Given the look on Jack's face, bullshitting his way through the conversation seemed to be the best way to go, given how he knew absolutely nothing on the matter. "You've been denying yourself to return her feelings even before you learned about your memories, didn't you?"

Jack's grip on his staff got tighter, a sign he was probably on the good path – or that he was so far down the bad path, he had no way to dig himself out any more. Which was ironic, considering his favourite way of travelling.

"It's not something from your past life, it's something from your life as Jack Frost. A life spent having fun with kids, spreading winter and enjoying every moment, maybe… but also… a life spent unseen, and ignored, and…" Bunny looked at Jack, realization slowly dawning upon him. "…Alone."

The winter spirit stared back at him, unblinkingly, but the Guardian of Hope had seen that look already. Right after he'd pointed out his lack of believers, when they'd kidnapped him to make him a Guardian. A look that was meant to hide the storm what he felt underneath the cold façade.

He was on the good path. Only, it wasn't so good any more.

"You spent three hundred years, your whole life, alone. On your own. Unseen and ignored. And now all of a sudden you have friends, you have believers, and you don't have time to deal with the mess of emotions it's causing within you because your duties as a Guardian come first, and because you are afraid of confronting those emotions." Bunny's voice got softer at the end. He could see the _actual_ problem now. Bullshitting to that point had worked. Now it was time to thread carefully. The only problem was… he had no solution to that. He could work alone for years without getting lonely, but he knew that he _did_ have friends that he could visit whenever he wanted. That had not been the case for Jack for centuries. True, he could play with kids, but he could never be _friends_ with them. "You don't know what to do, and you're too overwhelmed to try and figure it out, aren't you?"

The frost-haired boy sharply turned around and began to march out of the graveyard. Maybe Bunny had said something wrong, but he feared that there had been _no_ right things to say. Shivering in the snow, he bounded after the younger spirit, catching up in a few long jumps.

"Hey, I'm sorry for being so harsh, but it's nothing to be ashamed of, okay?" Jack didn't reply. He kept staring ahead and walking briskly as more snow fell from the sky. "Jack, listen, I _know_ you want to tell Tooth you like her. And I _know_ I want both of you to be happy. I may not be the best expert in this kind of thing, but I know I can help you. And if you allow me to help you, we'll solve this problem. Together, as Guardians should. I won't tell anyone. Just let me help."

"Just so you can win that stupid bet of yours?" Jack snapped bitterly, looking away. "The Wind talks, Bunny, but it listens even more."

He froze, and the Guardian of Fun kept on walking.

How did he know…

No.

That wasn't important right now.

Bunny looked down at his paws. The bet? In the midst of it all, he'd forgotten about the bet entirely. He was competitive, but when a friend needed help, anything else didn't matter any more. He hadn't been doing it for that bloody bet, dammit! He stomped after Jack with a new fire in his eyes.

"Stop right there, Frostbite!" he snapped so harshly the winter spirit actually listened, turning to look at him with frozen tears decorating his pearly white skin. "I get you're mad because I pried into your personal life, but you have no right to insult me like that! That bet? You wanna know what I think of that bet? Fine! Christmas is a thousand times better than Easter will ever be! Who cares about that bloody argument when a friend needs help?! Did I accept to do this because of that bet? Yes! Did I walk through the snow, and almost freeze, because of that bet? Bloody hell no!"

Jack stared at him in shock.

"You wanna know why I did that?! I did it because I care about you and Tooth, and I want to see you happy! Together! Was I a naive, hopeful fool for thinking that I could help you?" Bunny's voice abruptly dropped from shouting to whispering. "Maybe. But hope is my centre, and I'm not giving up so easily. And you know what? I'd rather go back to being pint-sized and called cute, than let a friend of mine hurt himself by denying himself affection. Affection you _deserve_, and that is _long_ overdue, if I may add."

"B-Bunny?"

"So now you listen, and maybe if you're half as good as the wind at it, who knows? Maybe you'll actually get what I'm saying." Bunny jabbed him in the chest with a paw. "Maybe you can't handle the affection as you are. Who cares? Being lacking in something is only a reason to improve. I'm gonna nurse you back to caring in no time! Before the next meeting, you're gonna be able to handle ending up married to Tooth and every single one of her fairies!"

"T-That's kinda exaggerating, don't you think?" stammered Jack, looking at him with wide eyes.

Bunny narrowed his own in return. "My Warren, you know how to get in there now, every single day for the following month. We're gonna study psychology, practise, work on your problem, and all of that. And meanwhile…" He allowed Jack to slowly start to smile before continuing. "You're gonna help me planting a few painting flowers and generally taking care of the Warren."

Jack's smile fell.

Oh, how sweet revenge was.

/-/

"They are still not together," North pointed out gleefully. Bunny chose to assume it was because he thought he'd won the bet, rather than actual happiness at them still not having confessed. "Are you ready to lose?"

Bunny snorted. "Humph. Not on your nelly, mate. I'm gonna win this one."

"Are you sure? Meeting is about to end, and they-"

"Just look and watch," Bunny grinned fully confident, jerking his head to the three other Guardians – of which one was still sleeping despite all odds.

North raised an eyebrow at him, but he humoured his old friend as the two of them continued to watch Tooth and Jack chatting like usual. Jack was telling her how he had helped Bunny plant a new type of decorating plant in the Warren, which would leave snowflake patterns on the eggs. He even took out one said egg to show it to Tooth, a tiny little blue and silver thing that had snowflakes designs all over it.

"And that's not all of it!" Jack continued, placing the egg back in his hoodie's pocket. "Bunny and I came up with another idea! Every Easter, he's gonna paint five percent of the eggs with our silhouettes and different patterns – presents for North, teeth and fairies for you, eggs and bunnies for himself, streams of sand for Sandy, and snowflakes for me. The children are gonna love this!"

North glanced at Bunny, impressed. "That is good idea. A for cleverness."

Bunny snorted again. "If you think this is A-worthy, then you're gonna fall over when you see what else we've done in the Warren. I've forced him to work hard every day."

"How did you get him to agree to work?" North asked, surprised. "He only works with Tooth and fairies!"

"Let's just say, it was a mutual benefit," grinned the Guardian of Hope. Then he whistled, making both the other awake Guardians turn to him. He shot them a cheeky grin and nodded. "Now, admire the work of a master."

North remained doubtful, but the meeting wasn't over, so he once again humoured his friend.

Only to be shocked when both of them actually stopped talking, and looked away from each other, bashful.

Had Bunny actually managed it?

No, that wasn't possible. That was-

"Hey Jack, there's something else I wanted… no, needed to talk about with you," Tooth began uneasily.

North was stumped.

Jack grew a tiny smile and nodded for her to continue.

"Well…" Tooth began to fidget and look around, clutching her hands in front of her. Bunny caught her eyes and raised an eyebrow before jerking his head at her to tell her to go on. She took a deep breathe, and looked Jack in the eyes.

And then blurted something out in some weird language none of them knew.

Jack blinked. "What?"

"I like you!" she repeated, this time in understandable English, though still very fast.

North's jaw dropped, smashed on the floor, and got lost in the midst of all the confusion and shock emanating from the man. Bunny grinned, but contained himself, prepared for the grand finale.

Jack's smile grew, and he glanced at the Guardian of Hope, who sent him a nod. "Well… Fact is, I like you back," he grinned back at her, raising his arms as he prepared himself for the hug that was sure to come.

She didn't disappoint him. The sheer force of the impact sent the two of them spinning mid-air, one flying with wings and the other with wind. Much to Bunny's displeasure, they didn't kiss outright, but maybe it was for the best. North didn't look like he could handle it.

"You do?!" Tooth nearly shrieked with laughter.

Jack's smile was far less exuberant, but no less joyous. He leaned in and pecked her on the lips. "Does this answer your question?"

Her eyes went wide, as did North's. Bunny shook his head. Jack Frost was and would always be Jack Frost no matter what. He should've known the boy wouldn't be the shy and timid type. It didn't really fit well with his personality nor with his centre. He was fine with his antics as long as he didn't give North a heart attack.

Speaking of which…

Bunny elbowed his taller companion with a grin. "So. About our little bet. I just won, didn't I? Weren't you supposed to do something?"

North went from shocked, to devastated. He looked like he'd just seen an entire year's worth of ice toys being shattered by yetis slamming doors open. Bunny wasn't feeling in a merciful mood though and elbowed him again. North mumbled something under his breath.

"What was that, mate? Couldn't hear you."

The Guardian of Wonder sighed. "Easter is… better than Christmas…"

Bunny's grin threatened to split his head in half.

**_Am I the only one who feels his eyes sting when, in the movie, Jack is shocked that Jamie can see him? I mean, come on, three hundred years may not be long for an immortal, but they are still three hundred years Jack lived alone, unseen and ignored! As Bunny puts it, like he didn't even exist. That's bound to cause some scars, despite Jack's personality being too... Jack... to be unable to heal._**

**_And I love the concept of Bunny being the least apt to handle such things, and being the one who has to help them. Jack more than Tooth._**

**_Until next time,_**

**_Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**

**_PS: Rainbow Snowcone forever! (literally...)_**


End file.
